I like the pig squad. The characters actually had depth. They had character development and added to her journey.
Well, I see it a bit more objectively and differently. From what I can tell, having them around her doesn’t actually have a positive effect. She should at least have someone with real military experience beside her. All the Pig Squad members come across as goofy and unserious. Combined with Chang Yu, the whole squad ends up looking like a joke. And honestly, I’m not sure how much growth we’re supposed to see from them. In Lin’an, they were beaten by some old folks (even though the ML helped in that fight). Still, they shouldn’t have been defeated that badly. Yet now they’re seventh‑grade Imperial Guards—at least the Jin guy is. How are we supposed to believe that? It’s even harder to accept than Chang Yu becoming a general with so little experience. Normally, an official of the seventh rank would need solid fighting skills and strong military discipline. I barely see a trace of either from them. Anyway, this is just my opinion. Maybe I’m one of the few who feels this way.
Maybe this isn’t a popular opinion, but I think the Pig Butcher Squad is basically filler addition to the story. They absolutely don’t add anything to the story besides some comedic relief. Some might argue that Mandi’s death was important for Chang Yu, but honestly, if it’s her job to kill the enemy commander, she should be focused on that regardless. Even without Mandi, her mission shouldn’t change.
It would’ve been fine if they were introduced briefly and then went their separate ways. But they ended up getting way more screentime than necessary. I would’ve much preferred that time be used for private moments between the main couple.
I actually liked the Pig Squad at first, but now the comedy feels forced and borderline cringe. And this Jin guy—he’s so arrogant and delusional. The way he talks to the ML is completely unacceptable. I don’t understand why the FL keeps letting him get away with it. Chang Yu in Lin’an would never tolerate that. Honestly, Jin deserves a slap from someone. Other male characters got slapped; he definitely earned one with his behavior
She doesn’t know the ” Rules ” especially palace rule . Where exactly you want her to learn that ? she…
I’m not sure if you missed this or not, but she did know how to show respect. She even said it herself—she needed to bow in front of the magistrate and show proper respect. And if you’ve watched any Chinese historical drama, you’d know that everyone understands what an emperor’s decree means. Even villagers and slaves know. She may be illiterate, but that doesn’t mean she would be this clueless. Also others were kneeling beside her and waiting for the decree.
Though I am not as such disappointed by his character arc in the drama, I have to agree, the novel did him better,…
The episode count really doesn’t help. They clearly needed more episodes to tell the story properly. But I’m also disappointed with how they keep adding unnecessary extra scenes. Some of these bits aren’t important at all, yet they include them just to make things “funny.” Honestly, they’re not even that funny. I’d much rather they stop forcing these random comedic moments and unnecessary stuffs and focus on the main storyline instead.
I’m honestly confused about how the writer is portraying the FL in these recent arcs. When the eunuch was reading the emperor’s decree, she just walked off to cook meat. Seriously? Is food so important that she’s willing to break protocol like that? If this were a strict emperor, there would definitely be consequences. It feels like she doesn’t care about any rules anymore. Does the writer really think that making her break every rule in existence somehow makes her strong or tough? I remember when she was in Lin’an—she was fully aware of the rules. She knew exactly how to behave in front of the magistrate and what lines she shouldn’t cross. So what changed?
I do wish we could see more growth montages from her, training etc, true. The thing about the forcing her decisions…
Yeah, there’s so much inconsistency. Honestly, I had such high hopes for this drama because of how good the first 20 or so episodes were. Somehow, I’m a bit disappointed now. Still, they can fix it. They can redeem the writing in the capital arc, hopefully. About the squad members—maybe that’s the explanation. But here’s another issue: even if they were assigned to a different camp, they still need to report to the main camp before leaving. They can’t just walk out like that, no? Well, it doesn’t matter too much. There are bigger issues, and we can ignore this one.
Well, it seems like there was a major drop-off in the scriptwriting and character development in the last few episodes. Normally, you wouldn’t notice that, but the drama set such a high standard in the first 20+ episodes that now you can’t ignore those faults. I read the novel, and I can see that several of the changes in the drama actually weaken the story.
The strong FL was the biggest strength of the drama in the first 20+ episodes, but in the later episodes, that became its biggest weakness. Maybe it happened because the drama couldn’t properly portray the FL’s growth within the limited number of episodes. Maybe we needed a few more episodes for that. You can clearly see there is a problem with the FL’s growth—it was so sudden that it’s hard to believe. I know it’s fiction, but fiction also has its own set of rules. The characters need to go through a growth journey before we see the actual growth. For the FL, she has basically zero growth journey. She doesn’t train, she doesn’t listen to anybody. You also can’t make decisions for others or try to force your decisions on others. You can be lucky once or twice, but not all the time. You can make mistakes once, but don’t take your mistakes for granted—try to fix them next time. Also, being independent doesn’t automatically mean you are strong. A strong person will accept help from others, listen to others, and try to fix their faults. That’s how you become truly independent and strong, not just by saying you want to be independent. I liked the portrayal of the FL in the novel. She was independent too, but she accepted help from the ML and others. That didn’t make her weak—and honestly, it made her stronger than the FL in the drama. She knew what her faults were and tried to overcome them. That’s how she truly became a strong character, both mentally and physically.
It’s not just the FL—other characters have issues too. For ML, there’s not much to say besides those lies that dragged on unnecessarily for so long. There were so many inconsistencies in the last episodes. For example, how did the 2FL escape from a guarded mansion and then miraculously find the FL in the forest? Seriously, you need to give a justification for that. And how did the pig butcher squad members just leave the camp without telling anyone? For the FL, I understand—she’s not part of the military squad. But they are. How can they just leave like that?
I don’t know, there are so many issues—some small, some big. The screenwriter did a tremendous job in the first 20+ episodes, but suddenly there are so many flaws. Did they change the writer or what? I’m saying all this because I want this drama to be the best. I just hope they don’t mess up the story in the last episodes.
I don’t get who can hack into get leaks and publish it online? When get caught don’t they get fined imprison…
Honestly, it’s hard to know. It could be someone from the distribution platform—they usually have early access. It could also be from regional distributors, though maybe not in this case since the leak happened in China. It might even be someone from the production team, or someone on the licensing side who reviewed the drama before release. The truth is, it’s difficult to pinpoint. When a drama becomes this popular, it attracts a lot of enemies, and somehow they always find a way
Dang, it really happened. All the episodes have leaked and are now available online. The drama team and production crew don’t deserve this. Popularity comes with a price, and it’s honestly sad. Some might argue that they should’ve been more careful—releasing only one episode for the whole week for such a massively popular drama was risky. Maybe next time they’ll plan a better release schedule and strengthen their piracy control. They really need to involve law enforcement, otherwise this will keep happening.
It would’ve been fine if they were introduced briefly and then went their separate ways. But they ended up getting way more screentime than necessary. I would’ve much preferred that time be used for private moments between the main couple.
I actually liked the Pig Squad at first, but now the comedy feels forced and borderline cringe. And this Jin guy—he’s so arrogant and delusional. The way he talks to the ML is completely unacceptable. I don’t understand why the FL keeps letting him get away with it. Chang Yu in Lin’an would never tolerate that. Honestly, Jin deserves a slap from someone. Other male characters got slapped; he definitely earned one with his behavior
The strong FL was the biggest strength of the drama in the first 20+ episodes, but in the later episodes, that became its biggest weakness. Maybe it happened because the drama couldn’t properly portray the FL’s growth within the limited number of episodes. Maybe we needed a few more episodes for that. You can clearly see there is a problem with the FL’s growth—it was so sudden that it’s hard to believe. I know it’s fiction, but fiction also has its own set of rules. The characters need to go through a growth journey before we see the actual growth. For the FL, she has basically zero growth journey. She doesn’t train, she doesn’t listen to anybody.
You also can’t make decisions for others or try to force your decisions on others. You can be lucky once or twice, but not all the time. You can make mistakes once, but don’t take your mistakes for granted—try to fix them next time. Also, being independent doesn’t automatically mean you are strong. A strong person will accept help from others, listen to others, and try to fix their faults. That’s how you become truly independent and strong, not just by saying you want to be independent. I liked the portrayal of the FL in the novel. She was independent too, but she accepted help from the ML and others. That didn’t make her weak—and honestly, it made her stronger than the FL in the drama. She knew what her faults were and tried to overcome them. That’s how she truly became a strong character, both mentally and physically.
It’s not just the FL—other characters have issues too. For ML, there’s not much to say besides those lies that dragged on unnecessarily for so long. There were so many inconsistencies in the last episodes. For example, how did the 2FL escape from a guarded mansion and then miraculously find the FL in the forest? Seriously, you need to give a justification for that. And how did the pig butcher squad members just leave the camp without telling anyone? For the FL, I understand—she’s not part of the military squad. But they are. How can they just leave like that?
I don’t know, there are so many issues—some small, some big. The screenwriter did a tremendous job in the first 20+ episodes, but suddenly there are so many flaws. Did they change the writer or what? I’m saying all this because I want this drama to be the best. I just hope they don’t mess up the story in the last episodes.